Mosaic of the Silver Wheel
by Pure-chan
Summary: A butterfly flapped its wings, watching as a storm brews ahead. Our heroes' fight has not changed, but with new players on the board, could they prevent the tragedies that will take place? Connection between Life and Death, Dancer of Destruction and Healer of Worlds, her desire is the bringer of life, the gift of the Goddess. SI


**I only have one excuse: plot bunnies. Honestly, when I want my muse to help me, she doesn't, but when I want to avoid her, plot bunnies chase after me instead. So, I don't know when I will be able to update again, maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, but I have a few chapters already planned out. **

**Please note that I've never played the games, so some of the information may be inaccurate. Furthermore, there are some differences from the original game from the beginning. It's my first time writing like this, so the story might be a bit confusing at times.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Final Fantasy VII. I do, however, own all OCs in this story including Sigma, Rooshmeen and Eric.**

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><p><em>Infinite in mystery, the gift of the goddess<em>

_Sought after by three men_

_Separated by war._

_The first is captured, his fate uncertain._

_Another flies away, restless is his wandering soul._

_And the last becomes a hero, mourning the loss of his friends._

_Ripples form on the water's surface,_

_Like the flapping of a butterfly's wings,_

_Evolve into tragedy._

_-_ Pure-chan's interpretation of LOVELESS, Act I

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><p>An auburn-haired man cursed as he flew towards the sound of gunshots. For the past few weeks, he's been doing nothing but chasing after the dratted puppy, forgoing his own rehabilitation. The former commander's strength was still nowhere near its peak, holding him back when he faced off monsters for longer than necessary. Unfortunately, it was most detrimental to his progress, which was why he was currently straining himself to fly faster as echoes of a massacre rang in his ears. There was another noise too, he noticed, the sound of fans swirling at high speed.<p>

_A helicopter, _he surmised. _The Turks, perhaps._

Shaking his head, the former SOLDIER turned his attention back to his first priority: the safety of Angeal's puppy and said puppy's protégé. Yet, too soon, much too soon, the gunshots ceased. The other source of the loud, spinning noises was beginning to fade away, ever so slightly.

Overcome by panic – not that he would ever admit it to anyone else – the redhead beat his wing, propelling himself forward with more speed and force than ever Turks, grew noisier every second. Drops of rain began to fall, one after the other before being released in a downpour all at once, effectively soaking him down to the bone. It didn't matter though, nor did the pain in his wing. Below him, the Wastelands grew darker as he neared a valley of corpses, the averse turning into a small storm.

Heaps of infantrymen lay about, a blonde man crawling over them to reach his fallen friend. The one-winged angel landed next to the former First Class, Mako blue eyes taking in the battered form below him.

"G-Genesis?" the black-haired man croaked as he recognized the kneeling figure.

"Save your strength, Puppy." Panic was replaced by professional calm as the renegade looked through his supplies. There were Ethers, Potions, some Materia… A leather-clad hand grasped one of the green shining orbs, recognizing its feel. _Cure._

Instead of using the Materia, Genesis pocketed it, preferring to give his… acquaintance a Potion instead. It was gulped down, not without difficulty, but the redhead doubted the puppy would last another day without proper medical attention. His hand clutched the orb in his leather jacket, debating whether completely healing the fallen soldier was worth sealing so many bullets inside him.

Just then, he noticed the sound of a helicopter drawing closer – no, it was already close. In fact, the former commander noted as he raised his head, it was landing on the cliff they were on, but further away.

Once the landing was complete, the pilot leapt out of the chopper, not a hair out of place, making him feel the urge to curse his misfortune.

The silver-haired woman was one he easily recognized – one, for her unique hair color, two, for having worked alongside her on a few occasions and three, for being the "adopted" sister of one Silver General. She was one of the most law-abiding Turks the man had ever met, as well as one, if not the strongest one with her SOLDIER strength.

With one barely conscious infantryman, one dying SOLDIER and a greatly weakened one, they would be lucky to knock her out for a short time, much less incapacitate her long enough to flee.

But the serious-looking woman did not proceed to take out the blonde infantryman, nor did she shoot Genesis down with her gunblades. With quick, steady strides, she crossed the valley of corpses without batting an eyelash, taking out an orange-red feather as she did so. Before he could react, she was standing in front of him, the feather in her outstretched hand.

The gunned down SOLDIER grunted as he tried to move, without much success.

"At ease, former First Class Zack Fair," her voice was soft, gentle, very unlike the last time they met. "Here," she handed the feather to Genesis. "A Phoenix Down for your troubles. I have a Mako detoxin for Cadet Strife as well."

"Why are you doing this, Sigma?" the former commander asked as she turned around, presumably to heal the other young man. Now that her back was facing him, he could see straks of black within the mass of silver. What happened to her?

"My sister asked me to save First Class Fai and Cadet Strife," was the even reply. "It is also my thanks to them for stopping my brother's rampage." She sighed, something he had never seen her do before. "Once those two have healed sufficiently, I will need your help to bring them on the chopper. The three of you will be staying in a small village near the outskirts of the Wastelands; I have some friends there who can take care of you until you can resume your journey to Midgar."

No more words were exchanged as the enhanced men regained some strength. Sigma carried Cloud to the helicopter with ease and, before long, the four of them were rushing through the air.

ShinRa HQ called during the ride, informing them that the mission concerning the missing test subjects was aborted, both having been killed by the infantry.

"Very well, I will be stopping at Kalm to pick up Shotgun before returning to Headquarters," Sigma told Tseng before cutting off the communication.

Though Genesis was concerned for the unconscious men in front of him, he couldn't help but notice how different the woman piloting the helicopter became since their encounter in Nibelheim, four years prior.

Most of her long tresses were still pulled in a bun behind her head, with one strand flowing down, ending right below her chest. She still wore that pair of gold-rimmed oval glasses with that chain looping from one branch to the other. Her posture was still as regal as ever, but her expression was much more open and kind. She seemed more at peace too, unlike the old days, as though recent events have opened her eyes and she accepted the role she was to play.

Yet, a nagging feeling of uneasiness lingered at the back of his mind.

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><p>They landed at the base of another cliff in the Wastelands, but much further away from the Mako city. Once again, Sigma and Genesis hauled the other two over their shoulders after exiting the chopper. The Turk was quite familiar with the terrain, the Materia master noted idly, though he could not guess how that ever happened.<p>

She finally stopped in front of a section of the cliff and pressed a rock, activating a mechanism which had a large one slide sideways to reveal a passage. A small boy, no older than ten, was waiting for them at the entrance, enthusiastically welcoming the visitors. His name was Eric, Genesis later found out, and he was the youngest of the villagers – "Earthlings", he precised – living in the canyon. Apparently, Sigma had helped them in the past, so they had agreed to take care of the enhanced men in return.

The underground village was a quaint, quiet place. There was a small source running its way through the cavern, drawing the line between the villagers' living space and the caves around it. There were some patches were light would come through, though those were few in number. However, there were remains of bonfires below them, mostly ashes.

The people lived in tents made of animal skin – there was, however, traces of an ongoing project, the first house within the caves. They seemed resigned to live such a dreary lifestyle, but did so by necessity. A few chocobos were tied to a pillar, not too far away, tended to by a man with dark skin and hair.

Now that the former commander looked around for more villagers, he noticed how they seem so few in number, maybe twenty-so at most, yet were of so many different origins. He could tell, not only by the different physical appearances, but also by the languages some spoke in, so different from Midgarian.

Eric led the group to one of the larger round tents, calling it his home. They soon met the boy's "aunt" and "uncle", who had agreed to take in the injured men. The small family was obviously not related; the aunt had dark skin and curly black hair, the uncle was much paler – a Wutaian, Genesis surmised – and Eric had light brown hair and greyish eyes. Despite that, it was obvious that they were a tight-nit family.

"_Here_," Sigma handed a pouch of Gil to the aunt once Cloud and Zack were laid on their makeshift beds. "_As far as ShinRa is concerned, those three are dead, so they won't come looking for them. Do you want me to pass on a message for those in the Slums?_"

After a long internal debate, the middle-aged woman shook her head, accepting the money. "_Be careful, Sigma._"

"_You too_," she replied, squeezing the other woman's hands. "_I can't stay long; duty calls._"

"_What about Ariane?_" the aunt asked worriedly. "_How is she? And what will happen to you?_"

A fond smile made its way to Sigma's lips. "_Alive and well, safe and sound. I'm sure you'll be hearing of her soon, Rooshmeen._" A soft chuckle escaped her lips. "_As for me, I'll be fine. If it snows in the next month, you'll know that I have succeeded. If my sister comes to you after that, please help her. After all…_"

She then turned towards Genesis who had been watching the exchange with keen interest despite his inability to decipher their conversation.

"Catch," a pouch, similar to Rooshmeen's, was thrown towards him. "There should be enough to cover most of your expenses. Jeremy and Rooshmeen will be showing you the ropes here. By the time you head to Midgar, the Turks will not be a problem when it comes to entering the city, but there should still be soldiers doing checks at the gates. There may be Turks near Aerith's church though, so you should warn Zack before he sets off to find his girlfriend."

"I am… grateful for your help," Genesis told her, a bit irritated at owing her such a debt.

"The one you should be grateful to is my sister," Sigma declared. "She'll be in Midgar soon enough, but I may not be there to welcome her."

The Crimson Commander nodded in understanding, sealing their deal.

The Turk shot one last look towards the sleeping patients before exchanging goodbyes with the small family and exiting the tent.

That moment she walked out of that tent, Genesis knew without a doubt that he would not be seeing Sigma again for a very long time. At the same time, that very moment the tent separated them, he came to another realization.

The reason for his feeling of uneasiness… He finally found it.

At Nibelheim, before Nibelheim even, Sigma's eyes were like her "brother's", minus the cat-like pupils. They were green, like the Lifestream flowing through the planet.

But when she first came to them on the cliff, when she led them to the village, when she interacted with Eric's family…

Her eyes weren't green then. Yet the color disturbed him just as much.

Her eyes were blue.

Mako blue.


End file.
